Good-day everybody. Today, we’re going to take a look at the Benjamin NP Limited Edition. These are my impressions of this airgun as I’ve unboxed it. Others may have different results, as no two airguns are the same.

To start, let’s look at what the NP Limited Edition is. This is a .22-caliber breakbarrel air rifle powered by Crosman’s Nitro Piston, hence the NP designation. The Nitro Piston is a nitrogen gas-filled piston that has many advantages over the traditional coiled steel spring powerplant. First, a gas piston is less affected by temperature. The nitrogen gas continues to compress and expand consistently even when the temperature drops. A steel spring is coated with lubricants that stiffen and do not want to move as fast in cold temperatures.

Another advantage of the Nitro Piston is less wear and tear. The gas piston has straight forward and back motion, so there’s no torque on parts. A coiled steel mainspring doesn’t just expand when it decompresses — it also twists because it’s coiled. That twisting is transmitted to the parts like the piston and spring guide, causing them to bear against other parts as they move.

Finally, the gas in the piston always has the same amount of mass. That means the gas will have the same expansion characteristics, providing long-lasting consistency.

The consistency of a gas piston is shown by the 10-for-$10 test I ordered with the gun. With 11.9-grain RWS Hobby pellets, the velocities were as follows:

After the first three shots, which was burning off the oil, this gun has very tight velocities right out of the box. If we exclude the first three, we get a high of 808, a low of 797, a spread of 11 f.p.s. and a standard deviation of only 5.16. I think that’s pretty impressive!

Another thing that impresses me is the cocking effort. It is SMOOTH! I don’t have a bathroom scale, but I would estimate it’s somewhere close to 28 lbs. My wife can cock it without much of a struggle! That’s not something commonly found in a magnum .22 springer.

The downside
Now that we’ve talked about the pros of this air rifle, lets look at the things that weren’t so impressive. When I bought it, the gun cost $179.99. That’s extremely affordable for a gun of this quality; but this great gun has to rest somewhere, and that’s in the stock. The stock used for this air rifle is the same synthetic stock that carries the Crosman Fury and Phantom. It’s an extremely lightweight stock that has a modified Monte Carlo cheekpiece and a long, curved pistol grip. This isn’t the right stock for the NP Limited Edition.

The Benjamin NP Limited Edition is really just the Benjamin NPS in a cheaper stock. The problem is that the NPS stock has a very pronounced pistol grip, and the metal parts of the gun are configured for it.

With the Fury’s stock, the trigger is noticeably too far forward. The curved pistol grip is also fat; and with the trigger further forward, you are literally reaching for the trigger, which is also boxy and fat. You cannot get a solid purchase on the trigger. All you get is the side of the square trigger blade. So, I decided to do some trigger modification.

Do trigger work at your own risk! That being said, the first thing I did to modify anything on this gun was to shape and thin the trigger blade on a grinding wheel. With that done, and my elbow up above my ear, I can finally get a solid wrap on it.

Here is the NP Limited Edition laying on top of my Ruger Blackhawk Elite. Notice the trigger placement when the grips are lined up.

In a nutshell, the NP Limited Edition is a great , but the price you pay — or rather the money you save — is felt in the stock. I contacted Crosman about options for different stock. The gun is worth finding a new stock that compliments it better.

I don’t have the space to do an accuracy test, but the gun is accurate, powerful, quiet and smooth. Overall, I’m satisfied. Based on the reviews of this gun, I knew the money I was saving was in the stock. I’ll look into a custom wood stock. It’s really worth it.

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80 thoughts on “My new Benjamin NP Limited Edition”

I’m skeptical about the term “magnum” given the low velocity for such a light pellet and given the low cocking effort, not that i care at all about magnum-imity; beefing up the power in these lo-to-mid price range break barrels just makes them more hold sensitive. That stock configuration is indeed disappointing. But if it is unusually accurate, all is forgiven. When you shoot, break the barrel, and look down the bore against a bright light, is there smoke? Just curious. Have fun and i hope you write a Part 2!

RDNA
Nice write up. And from what I see in the pictures I believe your right about the stock. But I really can’t say what the gun feels like unless I was able to hold it in my hands and give it a try. Sometimes a guns stock works better for a certain type of shooting you do.

Just me but I think that stock could work as a bench rest gun. If you look at the stock and the way its shaped you could lay the gun on the bag in different locations on the stock. And even the way the butt of the stock is low.

I’m thinking if you end up getting a different stock and if you find out that the stocks from Crosman/Benjamin will interchange with your break barrel gun. I could be interested in buying that stock from you. I have a .25 cal Benjamin nitro piston rifle that would like to wear that stock if it will bolt up. Of course if you make me a good deal. And sorry I don’t want to trade stocks. I like my stock on the.25 np I got also.

Just a thought for you but let me know if you find out the info about the stock changeability if you would.

I want to shoot a gas-piston gun! In theory they should have many advantages over coiled springers.but I Definitely know what a tightly compressed/wound spring does (Yeah, it feels weird!(feels like bein’ French kissed by a Bumble-Bee ) and eagerly await any new developments( and someone thatt’ll let me shoot their gun)!

Interesting analogy, also a bit perverted, but interesting. It sounds like your sproinger could use a little lube.

When I owned a CFX, I had a gas piston installed. It turned into a mule kicking me in the side of the face. In all fairness, it was probably too much piston for it, but I have heard others say the same thing.

I think now you can get tamer gas pistons, which might work out pretty good, but a good tune can help with that. Metal springs are not as bad as the gas spring people make them out to be. You can leave them cocked for a few hours and not bother them one bit. I am not leaving anything cocked for any period of time. That is just asking for trouble.

I’m a dyed-in-the-wool spring piston guy myself as well. I haven’t been able to bring myself to pick one up yet despite my growing curiosity about them since I first heard about the Theoben made gas-strut guns from yesteryear. The new Nitro Piston 2 rifles Crosman was showing off at the SHOT show look like they might be the ticket when they finally come out later this year. If they are as half as good as they say they are, I’ll be picking one up. Upgraded buttoned piston powerplant, better trigger (maybe adjustable? can’t remember) and easier cocking force sound like its right up my alley. Also I remember reading that they claim to be made in the USA which is always a good thing to hear these days. I only wonder if that means “assembled in the USA” or if they are truly building them from the ground up from scratch here. Anyways, really looking forward to meeting Tom at the Findlay show this Saturday, should be a great time. Its a great thing that PCPs have gotten as popular as they have because it seems like its been a big boost to airgunning in general these last few years. This surge in airgunning popularity even helps drives alot of activity in spring piston engineering and development, and this is something I had hoped for years ago actually coming to fruition. Exciting times to be a pellet slinger indeed. Hope everyone is well!

I too lament the loss of good old-fashioned wood stocks. I’d still take a boring looking piece of beech over most of these synthetic stocked rifles any day of the week. I’m well aware of the advantages of a synthetic stock, but it just doesnt do for me what the the look and feel of a fine piece of walnut attached to a deep, richly blued action does. I’m also baffled as to how some of the guns offered in both, the wood stocked variant is actually *cheaper*. Surely popping a plastic stock out of an injection molding machine is a bit cheaper than harvesting timber, rough shaping, dimensioning, sanding, finishing and checkering even if done by automatic machinery?

I typed you a reply about lamenting the loss of fine wood stocked rifles in favor of tupperware specials but it seems to have disappeared. I really don’t understand how some of the rifles that are offered in both synthetic and wood, the wood stocked variant is actually cheaper.

Hey, Ill take a nice piece of wood for a stock, how would it get to me? Aren’t you in like Kansas? I got the barrel of the NP over my machinist buddy’s house, his basement is a full cnc factory. The shroud goes home tomorrow! Happy bout that.

I guess I’m an old geezer. I personally see nothing wrong with the back half of that stock. If you are accustomed to Mattelomatics, I would certainly understand how it would feel strange. Now I am not too crazy about the looks of that dip up front though. I guess I would have to see how it rests in the hand.

At the Roanoke show there was a guy who does custom stocks for air rifles. He had some HWs that were to die for! I have his contact info when you want to get serious about a piece of sweet piece of wood.

By the way, there is this real fishy guy named Charlie that makes a real nice drop in trigger that will make that thing soooo much nicer. That was the very first mod I did to my CFX and it made a world of difference in it.

And so far the guns ok and its actually a spring gun. Its got the cheek twang a bit and kicks more than I like but so far the dang thing shoots. And it is quiet.

I’m letting my neighbor borrow it for awhile. The one that owns the woods behind my house that I shoot with. He likes it so far too.

Well what I’m getting at the trigger location is kind of different with out a doubt. On both guns. But for some reason I think its making the Stoeger a shooter. I wish I could shoot yours to know how it feels. That goes to show you just when you get comfortable with a hold and technique with a gun something gets thrown in the mix to make you change your ways of shooting.

Just think what BB goes through testing all those guns for accuracy and having to adapt to the guns characteristics. He probably just starts to get the feel of the gun at the 25 yard test. and hes lucky the gun is a shooter and he gets another round with the gun at 50 yards.

Well I’m sure BB adapts the second he picks the gun up with all the experience he has throughout the years if you know what I mean.

Does the scope and mount come bundled with it? What are the scope features and what kind of reticle does it have?
About the trigger, it sounds like you said you had to grind it just to get your finger on it. I can’t imagine that grinding away on the trigger would help that much. It sounds like the pull length is just too long for you. Is there a spacer under the buttpad that you can remove? What’s the trigger pull like? Does it have stages and adjustments?
You say that it is accurate but that you didn’t do any accuracy testing. Perhaps you could shoot some groups for a part 2 test.

I’ve never had a gas piston gun and have been wondering what they are like.

I hope you’re right. When Pyramyd Air places an order, they get an approximate ship date from the vendor and then add some time for transportation and the receiving process. They’re writing 6/30/14 as the available date for the NP2 rifles.

The NP2′s new trigger and internal baffle system have me real interested. I’ve been spoiling myself with German and English springers so far but a made in USA springer with newer technology interests me. If it has a sturdy barrel pivot joint with hardened washers and adjustable tension, it might be a good shooter. I’ve never had a gas springer or a thumbhole stock.

Has anyone here done a lube tune on one of the Benjamin NP type rifles? What’s the disassembly like? Do you still need a compressor jig to release the piston assembly?

The np limited (nps) needs a spring compressor, the ruger blackhawk came apart by hand, when I tried to get the np apart there must be 40 pounds of pressure, just a guess, but yeah, impossible by hand with mine anyway.

Hey guys thanks for all the great responses, let me try and answer all these questions… John, there’s no smoke and wasn’t any until it got a little lube, I replaced the breech seal with a leather one so there was a little smoke from that, , Reb, in not sure what thing of Charlie’s you mean, I read the links you posted but didn’t see Charlie’s name unless I missed one, Gunfun, the reviews say benchrest is harder than off hand, for some reason I do find it easiest to shoot standing with the butt low nearer the middle of my pectoral, and the stock that’ll fit id a Benjamin legacy, its the forend screws, these ones are bolted almost on the underside of the compression tube so the holes for the screws are angled upwards quite a bit. Thanks RidgeRunner and everyone else that asked about more parts to this, defiantly will, I’ve done more work on it since this was written and I have gotten used to shooting it but its still a pretty funny hold, which, Feinwerk, isn’t a bad length of pull, the stock is pretty short and actually gives you room to compensate for the grip, its just how far from your palm the trigger is, so you find a whole new place for your hand I guess, the scope is the centerpoint 3-9x, mildot, nice scope. That one is on the .177 for target and the 1.5-4.5x bushnell is on the .22 for hunting small game, the whole things getting a camo paint job once the shrouds back on. Thanks guys, I look forward to getting some more .22 pellets so I can do an accuracy test.

Nice write up RDNA!
Just a thought…I own one of Crosman’s Nitro Venoms w/the wood stock and with the exception of that longish shroud-looking thingie on the barrel appears to be pretty much the same thing. Even chrony’s the same averaging 845fps.

Why’d you pick the Benji over the Venom?

Oh, as for “Charlie”…he makes upgraded triggers for various Crosman guns. Or did, anyway, he has retired. He has given the biz to someone else so his GRT’s are still available, and yes they work WONDERS over the stocker although I don’t think they’re as great as everyone makes them out to be.

I was originally going for the umarex octane but it went out of stock. I wanted to get something I can’t get locally, and the venoms are at my local dicks. Im not selling anymore guns I get, which I normally do, so Ill have more parts and guns to work with.

Several years back I purchased a Gamo CFX Royale in .22 with a PA installed Gas Ram. The Royale version had a wood stock as opposed to the normal synthetic. It was a limited time promotional thing. Anyhoo, that stock had the same problem yours does being that the trigger assembly is too far forward of the pistol grip. The shape of the grip isn’t the problem. It’s just a bad matchup between gun and stock. In the picture it appears that if the trigger blade was just in front of the rear of the trigger guard it would be in the correct position. Mine is the same way. The trigger blade is set in the center of the trigger guard and is too much of a reach. The only solution is to “choke up” on the grip so your finger can reach farther forward.

I just wanted to let you know it’s not just you, that stock is just the wrong configuration to be correct ergonomically.

Glad to hear its happened before, I don’t feel so personally offended, I said to crosman kinda irrate, “whadju think I wouldn’t notice?”, but the nice lady was very kind and responded after all was said and done that she would look for a legacy stock to come from returns. I don’t know how long that might take if ever, Im thinking about actually fitting a wood one could be adapted easily enough.

Nice write up RifledDNA. I too hope for a part II. I also am excited about the NP2 that is coming. Has anyone heard anything (good or bad) about the new Gamo Whisper G2? It is a spring gun, but seems to be trying to capture smooth firing behavior everyone is after. http://www.pyramydair.com/s/m/Gamo_Whisper_G2_Air_Rifle/3376

Gamo’s Turbo Stabilizing System is designed to control the aggressiveness of the firing cycle so the spring is brought to a controlled stop…adding more velocity, decreasing vibration and reducing recoil.

You may not realize this but Vince (the one that commented on several of your posts here) is an incredibly experienced and knowledgable tuner. IF you ask him nicely he may share some of his wisdom. If he has time to respond pay very close attention to everything he says.

RifledDNA, nice job with a balanced review, just like B.B. I’d be tempted except that the guns I have are all so good. Interesting about the stock which reminds me of my Savage 10FP. Much as I love that rifle, I must admit that the stock is kind of light and meager. On the other hand, it is extra gratifying that the rifle shoots as well as it does anyway. I feel like I’ve put something over on somebody. Anyway, to restock the gun shouldn’t be any great difficulty for you if you know how to work on the trigger mechanism. Duskwight can surely give you advice with some restocking that he’s done on airguns and so could BG_Farmer to name a few.

Gunfun1, yeah that is an award for me to be on topic.

Speaking of which… You guys won’t believe what happened to me last week. I had a private swimming lesson with Olympian Janet Evans, the greatest female swimmer of all time. Here she is at her peak.

What has this got to do with anything other than that it cost the price of a very nice airgun? It wasn’t fitness which we all know is key to good shooting although that was a revelation. As you can see from the clip, she looks more or less normal while standing still. She’s only 5’3″. But when she moved you could see the intense muscle maturity of the world-class athlete. It was like watching a lioness move with the muscles rippling.

But that wasn’t really the point either. The point was coaching. This woman is a brilliant technician (having swum non-stop for over 40 years). She saw instantly what I was doing wrong and fixed it with the exact right drills. Have you ever wondered how to fix something for 25 years and come up empty? Neither me nor a series of coaches could figure it out. Part of the problem is that what you’re doing in the water is very different from what you think you’re doing which is why I didn’t get it. And swimming apparently is one of the most complex movements in all of sports which is why a series of fairly qualified coaches couldn’t figure me out either. Rarely have I encountered mastery like Janet’s except maybe when I met the Russian commando, Vladimir Vasiliev for a martial arts lesson. I am like a man transformed within one hour and a lifelong burden has passed away!

I’m all for self-study, but the lesson seems to be that in some cases coaching is indispensable. I got to thinking about shooting. The fact is that if the blog hadn’t come along with its info about the artillery hold and the right guns and countless other things, I would never have figured these things out on my own. I would have been in the same spot as swimming, wandering in the maze of error for 25 years, although with the expense of shooting, I no doubt would have just quit. And even the blog wasn’t the end of it since I had put over 100,000 rounds downrange before Victor straightened out my technique with his wobble-area/trigger squeeze idea. And the push goes on as I try to get out of a slump that I’ve been in for awhile. Anyway, you need to learn, and it pays to learn from the very best which is one thing that I’ve always had right.

RDNA
I would also like to congratulate you on a job well done. Putting your ideas, thoughts, and opinions to paper is no easy task, and usually best left for the experts, like BB. However, it is refreshing to read another persons point of view, and you have given us a nice look at the Benjamin NP Limited Edition. It was interesting to note Benjamin’s use of an older model’s stock. I seems this concept isn’t limited to Weihrauch, and Diana. I’m looking forward to reading about the guns performance in part 2.
Matt61
I also know the value of a competent coach. When I first took up competitive archery, I thought I could learn the basics from reading books and articles and observing the better shooters I came into contact with. I believed this method was serving me well, at least for the first couple of years. Unknown to me, I was slowly forming bad habits which became extremely difficult to correct. The worst one was lifting my bow arm immediately after shooting. In other words, poor follow through. I got away with this in practice, however, at a tournament I started to anticipate this movement at the moment of release. As the day wore on, my groups slowly got bigger, until a few arrows were missing the target altogether. I was burdened with this problem for that whole outdoor season. It took a coach, and the complete indoor season for me to regain proper form. A competent coach would have spotted this lifting of my arm immediately, and it would of easily been corrected. An interesting aside is the coach I worked with that indoor season, was not an archery coach, but was in fact a track and field coach. He was quite familiar with runners “jumping the starting gun”, and my problem being similar, he was easily able to isolate and remedy my situation.
You are extremely fortunate to have worked with such a competent coach. The knowledge in the lesson she gave you should serve you well with your shooting also.
Ciao
Titus

Thank you very much, I really enjoy writing and have often thought of trying to put enough time into a completed novel, finishing a book is a tough thing to do, and thinking your writing will be enjoyed is also no easy feat. I admire authors that can just put it down and put it out without hesitating. Knowing your work is good is not the same as having the type of confidence to present it, but Im getting there. That was another reason I started my blog, to get some practise of just putting it out there with something I love to talk about anyway. Who knows? If that’s successful maybe it’ll evolve into some accomplished works.

RDNA
I too was interested in a gas ram, I was able to test shoot a .22 NP trail, I liked it the only thing I didn’t like was the extremely long trigger pull. I ended up buying a.22 NP trail XL and ordered a GTX III trigger before I even got the gun. I was wondering if your trigger is long too
Stan

The Limited seems to have a good trigger, I think its a little bit of an upgraded setup from the first Nps, it wasn’t too long as it was hard, I took about a coil and a half off of the trigger spring because it had a serious amount of preload, that has brought it down to just under 4 pounds, and its smooth right through, love the trigger.

Hi there. I am a proud owner of this airrifle. I bought this as my second airrifle that I own. Last year I purchases an Air Arms TX 200 HC in .22/walnut with a Hawke 6.5 – 20×42 scope. I recently changed out the trigger for a GTX trigger from A of A. Can anyone recommend a better scope for the NP in the 100 – 200$ price range?

Hey there RifledDNA and BB, got a question for all of you reading this blog. What is the very FIRST thing you do with a new gun? Besides slobber over it when you bring it up to battery. I have read many of the responses and blogs on various sites and am still looking for an answer to the cleaning of the gun. EVERYBODY including BB aka Tom, says that cleaning is not necessary unless accuracy drops off. So RifledDNA did you at least run a patch down the barrel? I own the rifle that you wrote about and I got it during the Midwestern snow storms. Could only shoot about 20 feet in my basement. Brandy new and only 15 pellets going down the barrel and I was hanging 3 or 4 shots together in a dime sized circle. Agreed that ain’t 50 yards but I was impressed with the guns early accuracy especially when EVERYBODY (read, talking heads) says that accuracy will improve when the gun breaks in about 100 pellets down the road. So what is the correct info concerning barrel cleaning? Do ya clean a new barrel? What is the graphite stuff in the barrel when received new? I watched a video of Paul Cappelo shooting I think one of the Benj’s some time back and he made a comment that he had to clean the bore of the gun and it was not an easy chore. I called cust serv at Crosman to see what their recommedations are as there is absolutely nothing in the ops manual that comes with the gun. Though she was very sweet, she gave me some info that made my skin crawl. That leading in a barrel is to be appreciated until the accuracy drops off. So much for getting correct info from the manufacturer. I have found that cleaning the barrel on new guns takes a heck of a lot of time and effort but contributes to greater accuracy by getting the crud out of the barrel and away from the rifling which is partly responsible for accuracy. The barrels do then accumulate some of the graphite from new pellets which keeps them from corroding but it does not seem to inhibit the accuracy. As a shakey old guy, accuracy is paramount to me as I have enough trouble as it is, slinging them there pellets at targets. The sunshine has arrived! Time to move outside for some longer range shooting! Yee haaaa!

There is no one FIRST THING that is always the same, because every airgun is different. This one shoots fine out of the box, while that one needs its barrel cleaned. You have to assess the gun and determine what it needs.

Well B.B. as my elder I respect your opinion and I agree….. to a point. The first thing I always do is run a patch through the barrel just to make sure there aren’t any spiders, dust bunnies, or gobs of crud in the bore. I like’m shiny and clean BEFORE I start pushing pellets down their throat. I once read where the manufacturers do not remove all of the cutting compound from the bore. That stuff is not good for the bore and less so if shoving pellets down the barrel to clean it out. So like most of us with a new toy, I shoulder the new rifle and sight it some but then take it to the bench and run a few patches down it just to see what is in there. I NEVER load it and shoot it out of the box. I have owned several of these pellet flippers over the years and the only one that I ever found sorta clean was an RWS model 48 that I bought from a fellow named Leslie at Air Gun Express a few years ago. Like you said “You have to access the gun and determine what it needs.” I agree. The only way to see what is in the bore is to patch it! And in my opinion, lubing the bore with the new micro lube oils helps the bore stay cleaner or at least makes it easier to clean. OG

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